Sabra La Tau

Who: Everyone
Where: The Arena
When: Messenger's Year 1, Day 1
What: Closing Time.

[Ptou reforms, sand solidifying into marble, the robes, tattered, become the tapestries of royalty and a thin, circular crown sits on his head.

He stares down at the ground a long moment, silent.]

Is that... it?

Is this what it's like?

(( Links:

Part 1: osnap | Part 2: PSYCHE

WISH THREADS:

Wanjima Kaito | Snow White | Flonne/Victory | Elliot/Shrubbery | Red | Bombastic | Tide/Chrono | Himura Kenshin | Scowl | Edward Elric | Extreme/Kurono | Amy Pond | Kuchiha | Rapunzel | Minami Ikki | Kazuha | Trigger | Jace Beleren | Harmony/Alice | Chaz | Wanjima Akito | Yuta | Lark/Uchiha Obito | Jinx/Kaito | Sokka | Yayoi | Parrot | Spear/Itachi | Allen Walker | Kurow | Bond/Dean | Rory Williams | Claude C Kenni | Haruto/Humor | Mitsuru | Mao | Aven/Meta-Crisis Doctor | Nakamori Aoko | Kanda Yuu | Yoi-te/Night | Great | Aeris Gainsborough | Kudo Shinichi/Quartz | Trixie | Shinjiro/Thumper | Captain Kirk | Emil/Ratatosk | Ender/Nicholas D Wolfwood | Phoenix Wright | Maya/Cheer | Nico/Shield | Spark | Molotov/Amami Riku | Juuri | Akin | Apollo Justice/Badger | Kishitani Shinra/Harm | Lucky/Excel | Raenef/Apple | Lumiere | Santa/Crown | Edge/Magneto | Antillar Maximus | SASAGAWA RYOHEI | Impmon/Boomer | Sakura | Tazendra Lavode | Nia/Sparkles McGee | Lenalee Lee | Anchor | Royal | River | Rolo Lamperouge/Arsine | Sumeragi Kururu | Charles Xavier | Lulu | Ryougi Shiki | Zelgadis | Kohaku | Dagger | Franz d'Epinay | Tifa Lockhart | Rory Williams-Pond | Wisp/Miharu | June | Flames | Lotus | Rena | Kokuto Mikiya | Arianna | Razzy | Selendis | Kanou Taisuke | Watanuki Kimihiro | Albert/Simba | Elgala/Lovely Amethyst | Peter Parker | Aerich/Temma | Emiri | Haley/Hyatt | Daisy/Weed

FINAL DEPARTURE

If any links are misdirected or missing, PM Claude! ))

Who: EVERYONE
Where: The Arena
When: >(
What: YA'LL ARE DICKS

[Lightning arcs through the air, spreading out just over the heads of the gathered blanks with deafening thunder. Where it strikes the walls the marble chips and cracks, leaving small craters dotting the pristine surfaces. The face of King's statue is contorted in plain displeasure. Each time you blink, his gaze falls on a different person.]

That is quite enough. Let's have no more of these childish shenanigans. My patience has worn thin enough already, blanks.

Will you be handing over the keystones, yes or no?

[React || TRICKSTER || King Keystone Retrieval ]

Who: All Ophi, traitor and loyal, all Blanks. Good ended DO NOT hear the call, but can come
Where: The Arena
When: :)
What: Ladies and Gentleman, we understand that you have come to bear witness to the sound of drums and bass.

[As you enter the arena today, it is like you have stepped into a gala floor. Round tables with black and white checkers are arranged in a semi circle around the southern corners of the room, leaving the vast majority of the marble floor open for dancing. Austere marble pillars break the expanse of the floor in neat rows, affording a couple a moment of privacy as needed. Against the east wall, a bar is set with several classy appetizers, and a single platter of ten shrimp next to a crystal punch bowl.

At the very end of the expansive room, a black marble stage has a band set up, and ready to play. Behind that, stretching up and up, is a regal black throne. No one sits on it yet.

The double doors close after the last of you with a certain finality.]

Welcome, my dear blanks. And welcome to your guests as well! Quite unexpected to see so many familiar faces again. It does bring back memories, doesn't it?

I do hope you'll find the festivities to your liking. I know we've had our differences in the past, but I've put quite a bit of effort into ensuring that everything goes perfectly. As long as everyone, and that does include the delightful guests you've brought along, stays on their best behavior, I think we'll get along quite nicely.

((OOC: WE BEGIN! First event begins in an hour 8PM EST.)

[ Mingle || HORN!!!! || Rules :) || PART TWO])

Who: Anyone
Where: South Block
When: Day 303???? 304??? Who knows man!
What: Mingle :)

[Your... whatever it is right now, though it is probably buzzing with the excitement of seeing faces at home, and those considered lost stumbling back... is interrupted rather dramatically.

It sounds a bit like an earthquake, that thunderous rumble... but as it gets closer, you might notice that there's a rhythm too it. Louder and louder, faster and faster...

Almost out of no where, she appears, with ... Ash and a few pokemon on her back... and followed by three darting, speeding, flying hatchlings... They ignore all of the people on the ground, scrambling out of the way... they're not her goal... her goal is JUST enough space to get airborne... and at three times the length of the arena ... no other place would do...

Just at the far end of the cavern, Venna's wings snap open, their span almost too enormous to see in one look... and flaps. The gales are pressing, crushing, even the magical flames of the torches struggle desperately to stay lit, dust, dirt, rocks and boulders go flying as she takes off, angling up for the ceiling...

She breathes, her fire lighting the cavern with painful luminance... but those who recover quickly enough may catch, for an instant, a grey sky beyond, around the red edges of a portal.

She takes off, and flies away with her children, the magic closing the way behind her.]

((OOC: Mingle post!))

Who: PYXIS
Where: PYXIS
When: Day 303..............
What: PYXIS!!!!!!!!

[AND THEN IT WAS PYXISMAS]

Who: Everyone
Where: The Southern Fields
When: Day 303?? Late
What: A little squiddy said...

[Should you have followed a squidrat that STOLE YOUR THING! YES THAT THING! or just one that was acting oddly, or even just a Delphinus who knocked and said there was a picnic arranged...

You eventually find yourself in the soft light of the southern fields, surrounded by wildflowers and the wary shret looking at you balefully from the ceiling.

In the red glow of the saltwater pools here... seems multiplied, many pockets of water scattered throughout the field, a breeze surrounding them... If you look INTO one, you seem to see somewhere else... hear the SOUNDS of another world...

But before you get that far, there really IS a picnic!

A few checkered blankets have been spread across the soft moss, and are filled with salads, a few fruity, girly wines and drinks, fruit slices, cubed cheese, egg custard, a variety of cold cut sandwiches. (and a few loaves of fresh bread and pies.. because Link is Link.) ... there is also a very, very burned thing of cole slaw. The squidrat by it is eating it PROUDLY.]

((OOC: GOOD END COMMUNICATION! GO. GOOD ENDERS, feel free to start a thread with your name, you'll be visible and audible in the pool, both of your connections are a little wavy and watery though...))

Who: Anyone
Where: Everywhere
When: Day 200, afternoon
What:

[You hear pawing and scratching against your dorm door. If you do not open it, there will be whining. If you do open it, you will see this:



In its mouth, it carries a simple message: "FOLLOW ME! OR ELSE!!!"]

((Here is where the puppies are going! Feel free to say you followed one even if you don't feel like threading it out.))

Who: Everyone
Where: The Arena
When: Day 200, very early morning
What:

HaHA! Well, that’s enough of that, isn’t it?

[You awaken. You are lying on the Arena floor, in exactly the same health as when you answered the last Call. It seems like ... everyone is here, though some are slower to wake that others.

As you lift your head... you see possibly the most enormous spider you could ever imagine... were it intact and not well broken and torn to pieces, ichor covering a great deal of the Arena. As you watch, it is crumbling, becoming sand... and simply falling away as if it never were. Beside it, an empty loom cracks and falls apart piece by piece as well.

Enormous bloody pawprints lead away towards the Arena doors.

The King is on the throne.]

Up a little late aren’t you? I would run along now, if I were you.

Who: You
Where: At the heart of the city, before the great throne
When: ???
What: A Game

[As your vision sharpens, so does the laughter.

Upon the throne sits a statue of Kokoli; the Masked One, the Laughing Liar, the Fool’s Fool. He remains still, and yet his mask seems to shift whenever you glance away. On his lap is Rota, the Pale Maiden, the Death-before-Life. Something seems a little off in their expressions. Hers, a little vacant, distant. His seems more dangerous each time he appears. It seems they were conversing.]

"I'm s-still not sure . . ."

"Don’t worry, babe. You’re gonna knock 'em dead."

((Mingle

HOW TO PLAY

THE BOXES:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

ROUND 2
ROUND 2 OVER))

Who: Current workers and refugees, and late stragglers
Where: The base of the great mountain
When: King's Year 199, late fall
What:

[By this point, the walls have begun to curve up and over, and most areas require scaffolding . The supports are massive and each area has been flagged before they were very precisely set.

More great ants from the Pavo lands have begun making their way in, apparently of their own intelligence, and have taken to moving the blocks to the higher areas on their own.

The heat has become intolerable during the day. Even a few minutes outside burns, and more and more caught unaware are requiring treatment. The nights are bright. Torches are no longer needed; even in what used to be deep dark the horizons flood with the Old Woman's light.

Stragglers who survive the journey are quickly taken in, and often times treated. Some residents have raised concerns about food and water, but the Oracle remains quiet and calm, saying that such will be provided if necessary. The real question remains of whether the great shelter, now called 'The Sacred City' by the priests, will be done in time.]

Who: Pyxis, Canis, Cygnus
Where: By Location
When: King’s Year 199, Early Summer
What:

[As Dawn gives way to the Old Woman’s place in the sky this morning, the Cygnus people have a new, uneasy sight apart from the disturbances of the sky itself.

The crystal towers of the city shine a blood red, as if painted by the sun and the sky.

Soon after, the first messengers appear before the courts: Many of the upper mines have collapsed, though the deepest are intact though the ways up are treacherous.]

[Further off, the red light on the mountain of the Gods is visible on the Pyxis plains, far and wide, and sometimes the only point of navigation as the mix of contradictory winds, heated pouring down off the mountains, and cool rolling in from the waters crash tumultuously over Pyxis and Canis.

Over fields of blasting sand, heavy storm clouds begin to gather, seeming to shun even the heat of the sun. Rolling and boiling on themselves, the storm clouds seem like black mountains, unleashing more rain than most of the areas had seen in years combined... and far too fast for the ground to absorb it.]

Who: Everyone
Where: Everywhere
When: Day 198, evening
What:

[Suddenly, whatever you were doing, whatever your current physical state, you can feel it. It is a Call, but like none you’ve ever felt. In the arena lies the truth. A secret stifled for thousands of years now demands to be told. It resonates with something inside you, and you feel the pull.

It’s hard to hold in your mind to any thought but that need. Incapacitated teammates will need to be assisted. Everyone must be there.

You cannot look away from it. You cannot look away from Him.

You must go to the Arena. She will show you the truth.]

((Please to consider this your pre-Mingle mingling post. :) Characters may gather and chat on their way to the arena. Rabi can weep his bitter, useless Madagascar tears. Those who are FEELING THE COSMOS will feel these effects much more strongly, but everyone will to some extent feel the compulsion to go. At 8PM EST, everyone arrives at the Arena, and the :) may begin in earnest.))

Who: Whoever
Where: Wherever
When: Day 197, morningish
What: Mmmmmingle post (... hopefully sans eyeballs)

[oh hey, what's going on over there* ...]


((* there being where you indicate in the comment o/ also I'm not responding to everyone! MINGLE AMONG YOURSELVES))

Who: Zero and others!
Where: Pavo, Lacerta, Cepheus, PYXIS? (don't shank me) etc.
When: Day 195, after the bath shenanigans
What: Visiting the new crazies in Sabra.



[Blue dolphin at the door, knock knock knocking.]

Who: Amanita, Kelvin, WHOEVERRR
Where: ORION!!11
When: Day 194, afternoon
What:

[ A Lepus walks to Orpheus carrying a slice of watermelon. ]

Who: BLANKS
Where: ARENA
When: Day 194, noon
What: GAME

[ For those who know the Huntress's voice, the Call is in her voice: ]

Gynonudomania, yataghan, acataleptic, quadragintesimal, zymase, macaronic, keratogenic.

( ... )

SIGNUP | MINGLE | TEAM DISCUSSION, 1 | GAMERULES, TEAM DIVISIONS, TEAM CUBICLES | ENDGAME | MEMORIES

Who: People
Where: the southern end of the Pygnus-Lyvus cavern
When: Day 193, afternoon
What: invocation

[Once things have calmed down a little after the earthquake, those sensitive enough might notice the time anomaly slowly approaching the Pygnus-Lyvus caverns from the direction of the southern caves. Even those who are not sensitive will probably notice the distinct rumbling groan of rocks shifting against one another. At the site of one of the collapsed cave entrances, the rocks very slowly shift. Like a reverse earthquake, they lift back into place until it is just as pristine as it's pre-quake state.

A few moments later, an exhausted looking Pyxides steps from the cave mouth, blinking in the glare of torchlight. She's shaking from head to toe as sweat drips down her face as she tries to orient herself.]

... back...?

Who: ???
Where: By the northern part of the river, having COMPLETELY MISSED any and all habitations
When: Day 193, afternoon
What:

. . . h-hungry. . . so hungry. . .

[Here is a poor, sweet, unbracered demon innocent little girl in a tattered old Monoceros uniform, curled up into a pitiful whimpering ball.]

Why isn't anyone feeeding meeeee...

Who: ... ?
Where: Heading toward the dorms
When: Day 193, morningish
What:

[After the shock of the night before, it's understandable that the Blanks might be a bit more apprehensive today as they clean up the broken bits scattered around their rooms. Perhaps they'll venture outside the dorm area, keeping an eye out for structural damage at the baths, seeing what can be salvaged in the forge, or maybe checking their gardens to ensure the vegetation is stable ...

If they do, it won't be hard to notice a young woman in pink walking from the North -- not the normal pink you see now, either. Instead of the flowing sashes and exotic folded cloth that cover today's swans, this girl is dressed in the familiar and plain skirted tunic and leggings that was the previous norm, now layered in dust and tattered to the point of being threadbare. Even as she carefully holds herself away from the cave walls, keeping her arms folded tightly around herself, anyone with an eye for detail will notice that both arms are only covered in grime, not metal. It's also fairly obvious from the way she's squinting that her eyes haven't adjusted to the light of these particular caves yet. There weren't many torches -- or any, for most of the journey -- to light the way behind her, after all.

She makes sure to give any stone she passes by a wiiide birth, eyes darting away from them uneasily before continuing to walk hesitantly on. She's undoubtedly coming toward the main living area, though one look at her face would tell you that she has no earthly idea where she's headed ... or where she came from. Her voice is quiet, thin and scratchy from disuse and fear, but she keeps talking to herself because she can hear it. The hitch in her voice only serves to emphasize her unmistakable accent:]

-- ep moving. Got to ... not stop. He'll keep me again ... don't want ... to not move -- anymore. Yeah. This way ... got to keep going ... this way ...

Who: Who knows
Where: Southern river
When: between day 191 and 192, late night/early morning
What: :(

[Because you missed when I could make posts with just a long anguished howl echoing through the tunnels... Also wall-punching I guess. But this shouldn't be relevant to most people, go back to bed.]